Unpacking The Pause: How Gap Years Shape Nursing Student Journeys

This research investigates the experiences of nursing students in Baguio City, Philippines who had a gap year (a year of taking a break in formal education) before pursuing the course or in the middle of the course with a focus on describing their lived experience. Using a descriptive phenomenological method, the study undertook in-depth, semi-structured interviews with purposively-selected participants in order to reveal key motivations, transformative experiences and perceived life-long consequences of this interruption to educational provision. The results indicate academic refreshment and preparation for the challenging conditions of nursing education. The learnings in skills, ability to adapt, and develop resiliency, simplicity in career aspirations were reported. But dealing with issues such as academic transition and financial obligations were also reported. The study also suggests that for the nursing students of Baguio City, taking a productive gap year can play a formative role in influencing the academic and career paths of the students as it can cause significant development in the students’ maturity, self-efficacy, and intentional view towards their career future as health professionals. Such understandings enhance our overall knowledge regarding the role of educational hiatuses in nursing, and help to highlight the necessary support from institutions in order to acknowledge the possible advantages and challenges of gap years.